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“And what about Leia?”

Wedge considered, and Luke appreciated that he didn’t just answer with a simple “Of course everything’s fine.” “She seems to be spending more and more time with her duties as Minister of State. Mon Mothma has been handing off a lot of important responsibilities to Leia while she herself stays in her private chambers and rules from a distance. It’s got a lot of people disturbed.”

That behavior seemed highly unusual for the strong, compassionate ruler Luke remembered. “And how is Leia handling it?” He longed to know a thousand things at once, wishing he could be in the thick of it all again … while another part of him preferred the peace of Yavin 4.

Wedge sat on the edge of the sloping ramp. He propped one leg next to a support strut, then balanced his helmet on his knee. “Leia’s doing a wonderful job, but she’s trying to do too much, if you ask me. Even with baby Anakin still in hiding, she does have the twins to watch over now. Threepio helps, but Jacen and Jaina are still only two and a half years old. It’s more than a full-time job, and Leia is getting exhausted.”

“She could come here for a rest,” Luke suggested. “Have her bring the twins, since I need to get them started on basic Jedi skills.”

“I’m sure Leia would love to come here,” Wedge said. They turned and watched as Streen and Gantoris emerged from the barge carrying tall crates. The two Jedi candidates walked smoothly, carrying loads that seemed impossible, and Wedge’s eyes widened at the impressive feats of strength. “I had to have labor droids put those boxes onboard. I couldn’t budge one myself.”

“Then my students must be showing some progress.” Luke nodded. “What about you, Wedge? You going to be a delivery driver the rest of your career?”

Wedge smiled; then with a flick of his wrist he tossed the helmet up the ramp and into the open cockpit. It clacked and thumped across the floor. “No. In fact I came here because I have a new assignment, and I won’t get a chance to see you again for some time. The New Republic Council feels that Dr. Qwi Xux may be in danger from espionage. Admiral Daala is still out there somewhere with her fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers, and any time now I expect her to start blasting planets at random with hit-and-run strikes. She may try to get Qwi back.”

Luke nodded gravely. Qwi Xux had been the top scientist in the Imperial research facility from which Han Solo had escaped—with Qwi’s help. “If Admiral Daala doesn’t want Dr. Xux back, I’m sure someone else will.”

“Yeah,” Wedge said, “that’s why I’ve been assigned as her personal bodyguard and escort. In the meantime the Council still hasn’t decided what to do with the Sun Crusher weapon that Han captured.” Wedge sighed. “That’s just scratching the surface of everything going on back on Coruscant.”

Luke stared at Gantoris and Streen as they continued to unload the cargo bay, marching across the clearing to deposit their crates in the empty, cool hangar. Artoo-Detoo rattled out of the temple, leading two other students.

“Sounds like you need the new Jedi Knights more than ever,” Luke said.

Wedge agreed emphatically. “More than you can know.”

2

Fidgeting from the long voyage in the expanded B-wing fighter, Leia Organa Solo rode in silence beside Admiral Ackbar. The two of them sat in the cramped, metallic-smelling cockpit as the ship plunged through hyperspace.

Being Minister of State kept Leia on the move, shuttling from diplomatic event to ambassadorial reception to political emergency. Dutifully, she hopped across the galaxy, putting out fires and helping Mon Mothma hold together a fragile alliance in the vacuum left by the fall of the Empire.

Leia had already reviewed the background holos of the planet Vortex dozens of times, but she could not keep her mind on the upcoming Concert of the Winds. Diplomatic duties took her away far too often, and she used quiet moments to think about her husband Han, her twin children Jacen